The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of petunia plant obtained from crossing `Recoverer Blue (.female.)` and a wild type of petunia plant (.male.) native to Brazil.
Petunia is a very popular plant and is used for flower bedding and potting in the summer season. There only a few varieties of the petunia plant which do not have an upright growth habit and which have a high resistance to rain, heat, and drought. Accordingly, this invention was aimed at obtaining a new variety of decumbent type petunia plant having long stems, the bush remaining in bloom for a considerable period of time, and a high resistance to rain, heat and drought.
The new variety of petunia plant according to this invention originated from a crossing of `Recoverer Blue` as the female parent and a wild type of petunia plant native to Brazil as the pollen parent, in June, 1985 at the Yachiyo Farm of Keisei Rose Nurseries, Inc., residing at 755 Owadasinden, Yachiyo-shi, Chiba-Ken, Japan. From this crossing, 250 seedlings were obtained in 1986, from which 3 seedlings were selected, propagated by cutting, and then grown as a trial by flower bedding. Only one of the 3 resulting plants was selected. The botanical characteristics of the finally-selected plant were then examined, using a similar variety, female parent `Recoverer Blue`, for comparison, from the spring of 1987. As a result, it was concluded that this petunia plant is distinguishable from any other variety, whose existence is known to us, and this new variety of petunia plant was named `Revolution Brilliantpink-Mini`.
In the following description, the color-coding is in accordance with the Horticultural Colour Chart of The Royal Horticultural Society, London, England (R.H.S. Colour Chart), and the Inter-Society Color Council-Nation Bureau of Standards Color Name (ISCC-NBS Color Name). A color chart based on The Japan Color Standard for Horticultural Plant (JHS Color Chart) is also added for reference.
`Recoverer Blue`, used as the female parent in the breedng of this new variety `Revolution Brilliantpink-Mini`, is one of the Recoverer Series bred by the Sakata Seed Corp., Japan. The Recoverer Series includes `Recoverer Scarletred`, `Recoverer White`, and `Recoverer Pink`, and these plants are commonly characterized by a high resistance to rain. The main botanical characteristics of `Recoverer Blue` are as follows.
Plant: PA0 Stem: PA0 Leaf: PA0 Flower: Opening obliquely upward. PA0 Physiological and ecological characteristics: High resistance to rain, heat, and disease, and moderate resistance to pest. PA0 Plant: PA0 Stem: PA0 Leaf: PA0 Flower: Opening obliquely upward. PA0 Physiological and ecological characterstics: High resistance to cold, relatively high resistance to heat, and moderate resistance to disease and pest.
Growth habit.--Upright. PA2 Plant height.--30-40 cm. PA2 Spreading area of plant.--25-35 cm in diameter. PA2 Blooming period.--April to September in the southern Kanto area, Japan. PA2 Thickness.--Main stem 4.0-6.0 mm; lateral stem 2.0-3.0 mm. PA2 Color.--Brilliant yellow green (RHS 145B, JHS 3504-3503). PA2 Branching.--Abundant. PA2 Pubescence.--Normal. PA2 Length of internode.--2.0-3.0 cm before blooming; 2.0-4.0 cm during blooming. PA2 Phyllotaxis.--Verticillate before blooming; opposite during blooming. PA2 Shape.--Oval. PA2 Size (average).--4.5-5.0 cm.times.2.0-3.0 cm. PA2 Thickness.--0.3-0.5 mm. PA2 Color.--Moderate olive green to moderate yellow green (RHS 146A-137C, JHS 3508-3712). PA2 Pubescence.--Normal. PA2 Type.--Single. PA2 Shape.--Funnel-shape, with five-fissured limb. PA2 Diameter.--8.0-8.5 cm. PA2 Color.--In the unopened stage (bud), dark reddish purple to black (RHS 79A-202A, JHS 8618--05); both when open and at full bloom, deep purple (RHS 83A, JHS 8606-8609). PA2 Reproductive organs.--1 normal pistil having a strong yellow green (RHS 143A, JHS 3711) stigma, and 5 normal stamens each having a medium gray (RHS 202B-202C, JHS-03--02) anther and a light purple (RHS 87B-87C, JHS 8304) filament. PA2 Peduncle.--1.5-2.5 mm in thickness, and 2.5-3.0 cm in length. PA2 Growth habit.--Decumbent. PA2 Plant height.--20 cm. PA2 Spreading area of plant.--100-150 cm in diameter. PA2 Blooming period.--May to August in the southern Kanto area, Japan. PA2 Length from base.--50-80 cm. PA2 Thickness.--Main stem 2.0-3.0 mm; lateral stem 1.5-2.5 mm. PA2 Color.--Strong yellow green (RHS 144B-144C, JHS 3512-3513). PA2 Branching.--Over-abundant. PA2 Pubescence.--Many. PA2 Length of internode.--1.0-2.0 cm before blooming; 1.5-3.0 cm during blooming. PA2 Phyllotaxis.--Opposite both before and during blooming. PA2 Shape.--Oval. PA2 Size (average).--4.5-5.5 cm.times.2.5-3.5 cm. PA2 Thickness.--0.4-0.5 mm. PA2 Color.Grayish olive green (RHS 137A-137B, JHS 3716-3717). PA2 Pubescence.--Few. PA2 Type.--Single. PA2 Shape.--Funnel-shape, with five-fissured limb. PA2 Diameter.--4.0-5.0 cm. PA2 Color.--In the unopened stage (bud), dark reddish purple (RHS 79B, JHS 8907-8909); when open, vivid reddish purple (RHS 74A, JHS 9207); at full bloom, vivid reddish purple (RHS 80A, JHS 8906). PA2 Reproductive organs.--1 pistil and 5 stames, both normal. PA2 Peduncle.--0.9-1.2 mm in thickness, and 2.0-2.5 cm in length.
The male parent used in the breeding of `Revolution Brilliantpink-Mini` is a wild type of petunia native to Brazil, the seeds of which were gathered at Gramado, Rio Grande Do Sul, Brazil and introduced to Japan in October, 1983. This wild type of plant is presently maintained at the aforementioned Yachiyo Farm of the Keisei Rose Nurseries, Inc. The main botanical characteristics of this male parent are as follows.
This new and distinct variety of petunia plant, `Revolution Brilliantpink-Mini`, was asexually reproduced by cutting at the aforementioned Yachiyo Farm of Keisei Rose Nurseries, Inc., and the homogeniety and stability thereof were confirmed.